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Continued from What you should do after a car accident – Part 1

25 TIPS FOR AFTER AN ACCIDENT

• Never panic and leave the scene of an accident. It usually implies guilt and criminal charges may arise. Instead, turn off your vehicle and switch on your hazard lights.
• Assess both yourself and your passengers for injuries, then check the other vehicle’s occupants if necessary.
• In the event of an injury, call emergency services and attempt first aid measures.
• Move both yourself and your passengers to a safe area, most likely off the road and onto a verge or footpath.
• Do not discuss the accident with anyone and never admit fault in any circumstances. The only discussions you should have are to exchange driver details and collect evidence. If you have passengers, request them to not say anything to anyone.
• Do not move your vehicle from its resting position after impact. Also advise the other driver to leave their vehicle until details are recorded. If you have them available, cordon the accident scene off with traffic cones.
• If the accident does not involve another driver, such as hitting a parked vehicle, be sure to try and locate the vehicle owner and if unsuccessful, leave your contact details.
• If the driver of the other vehicle flees the scene of the accident or refuses to provide their details, call and notify the police.
• In the case of a major accident requiring assistance to move the vehicles, or where damage has occurred to public property such as traffic lights, call and advise emergency services.
• Although different states do not require police to be notified for minor accidents, it is advantageous to call them and to also file a police report. At the very least it will help speed up your insurance claims process.
• Exchange contact details with the other driver and record the conversation if possible. Having a record of them admitting fault or even just saying sorry is invaluable. Many people may claim a recording will be inadmissible in court without the other party’s permission, but the Listening Devices Act allows you to record a conversation to be used in a legal matter.
• If the other driver co-operates, be sure to get them to write a statement of their version of events. At the very least, try and make an audio recording of what they say after the accident.
• When gathering the other drivers details, request to see a copy of their drivers licence and record the details from there to prevent a false name being given. Take down their name, address, date of birth, driver licence number and expiry date from the licence, and also request their contact phone numbers in addition to the name and address of their employer, insurance company and insurance policy number.
• Take down the other vehicles registration number and registration expiry date, and photograph them if possible. Request to view a copy of the registration papers to make sure they are the owner of the vehicle. If not, ask them what their relationship with the driver is and if they have permission to be driving the vehicle.
• Note down details of the accident location and the time it occurred. The street address is important and noting weather and road conditions can be helpful too.
• Draw a diagram of the accident scene including car locations, the directions both cars were travelling in, skid marks, positions of impact and related vehicle damages. Take photographs of the accident scene and damage sustained to both vehicles where possible.
• Take a physical note of any injuries you and your passengers have sustained, as well as recording the apparent injuries of the other cars occupants. Photographs of injuries are once again handy. If you do not have any passengers with you, request a bystander or witness to take any photographs of yourself.
• Interview any witnesses to the accident, including passenger in both vehicles, either with a pen or recording device. It is even better if you can get them to write a statement of events immediately. Be sure to record their details and contact information.
• While the information is still fresh in your mind, write down your version of events and note down everything you saw, such as seeing the other driver using a mobile phone. By recording the time of the accident accurately, the police can check the other driver’s mobile phone records to confirm your claims. Other common faults to have noticed include failure to indicate or not using lights.
• Be wary of signs of the other driver being under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Watch out for glazed eyes, loss of balance or co-ordination, and most importantly, the smell of alcohol or drugs. Take notes and report your observations to the police officers attending the crash scene.
• Check the other driver’s car for signs of unroadworthiness, as this may have contributed to the accident. Bald tyres are easily viewed and are especially dangerous in wet conditions. Other faults to keep an eye out for include broken mirrors or lights, provided they are not in the impact zone, cracked windscreens, objects blocking the natural view, and illegally lowered suspensions.
• Once all the necessary details of the traffic accident have been recorded, both you and the other driver may move your vehicle off the road. However, if it is not a minor accident, it is better to wait until the police arrive and give you and the other driver permission to shift the vehicles from the road.
• Call for a tow truck driver at your earliest convenience. If you do not have a preferred tow trucking company or they are unavailable to attend to your accident, make sure you negotiate hard with the first tow truck that arrives at the scene.
• After the accident, it is wise to visit a doctor for a check-up, even if you are not injured. Certain accidents will have post-traumatic symptoms and the doctors are best qualified to advise you of potential injuries and monitor your ongoing health.
• At your earliest convenience, notify the claims department of your insurance company about the accident, unless the accident is minor and you will pay for the damages yourself or come to an agreement with the other driver.

This is an exhaustive list and may take a while to memorise and implement. Some of the points listed may seem petty and unnecessary, but try telling that to someone who wasn’t at fault in an accident, yet failed to follow these procedures and ended up being found liable for the accident.

The world is in a sad state of affairs and the fact is that people have no problems lying to escape liability in a traffic accident. If you are not at fault in a traffic accident, it is always safer to assume that the other person will try to cheat and lie their way out being liable for the damages. So please take all necessary precautions to protect yourself in the event of an accident. Happy motoring and drive safely.

MAKE SURE YOU ARE PREPARED

Having a car accident is something that we all wish we could avoid for the entirety of our lives, but statistically, the majority of us will experience one or even multiple accidents in our lifetime. So apart from praying that we are never involved in a fender bender, we should all learn to be prepared for the event of an accident and know what to steps to take immediately afterwards.

Some of the steps you should take involve safety aspects, while others are primarily for financial reasons. If an accident is not your fault, you need to be particularly wary of the other party trying to absolve themselves of blame. It doesn’t matter whether the person appears trustworthy or admits to being at fault at the scene; situations can change dramatically after they have had time to clear their head.

Maybe the sweet and innocent young girl who ploughs into you will have a dad who is a policeman or lawyer and tries to manipulate the story to place you at blame. Or there could be the case of a guy who realises he will lose demerit points for the accident if at fault and therefore lose his licence and job. If you saw the statistics on people changing their stories after an accident, it would genuinely surprise you, so remember to be wary of the potential for this occurring and take measures to ensure it doesn’t happen to you.

10 TIPS FOR BEFORE AN ACCIDENT OCCURS

• Keep a record of important phone numbers such as police and emergency services either in your mobile phone or written down on paper.
• If your car is insured, keep a copy of your insurance company’s phone number, as well as your policy number. If your policy has restrictions on vehicle repair centres, be sure to carry a copy of the approved list with you as well.
• Locate a reasonably priced tow truck service and carry their contact numbers with you. Otherwise, the first available tow truck that arrives could cost around four times the standard price.
• If you have any serious medical conditions or allergies to medications, ensure you carry a medical information card on you at all times.
• Carry a torch or flashlight in your vehicle. This can prove to be very handy in the event of an accident at night.
• Carry a first aid kit in your vehicle. You never know when it might be necessary or end up saving either yours or another person’s life. Taking a first aid course is also of great benefit.
• Carry some small traffic cones. This is not a necessity, but can prove useful if a crash occurs in a high traffic area.
• Wear a watch or take a mobile phone with you. You may need these items to record the time if an accident occurs.
• Keep a pen and some papers in your vehicle. You will need these to record details and exchange information with the other driver or witnesses. Pens are notorious for the ink running out when you need them, so carry multiple pens or preferably use a multi-pen, such as one that has four colours to select from.
• Carry a camera and recording device in your vehicle. These are critical if you need to record evidence of the crash. Most modern mobile phones come with cameras, video recorders and sound recorders these days, so you may not need to carry those devices in your car. If you are worried about theft of your camera, you can always buy and keep a cheaper disposable camera to take accident scene shots.

Continued at What you should do after a car accident – Part 2